Braco Brings Croatian Love Stare to Miami Beach This Weekend

A death stare. Looks that could kill. Stink-face. There are plenty of ways to make a person feel crappy, just by looking at them.

But what about a love stare? Why can't we all get some more of that?

Well, Miami is about to get just that. Locals are signing up to bask in the look of love when Braco the Croatian gaze healer rolls through town. The "European phenomenon" will hold three days of back-to-back gaze therapy at the Miami Beach Convention Center May 5-7.

>You read that right: gaze healer. Braco's adherents claim that the power of his gaze is a transformative experience, healing both physical ailments as well as inspiring total life metamorphoses. Attendees are known to break into tears of joy under his stare. And as personal accounts of his abilities have spread across Europe and onward west, Braco's mug is fast becoming one of the most-viewed faces on the planet.

The way it works is pretty simple. He stands on a platform. He looks at

you. You look back. And what happens as a result of this exchange is

something that only those who have experienced it can say for sure.

"There was a tangible energy that filled my entire body," said Angelika Whitecliff of her first encounter with Braco in 2009. "I just felt such an incredible feeling of love permeate me. I felt the world had opened back up."

In the weeks that followed, Whitecliff says, she experienced physical healing, and was able to shed phobias and emotional blocks. She had an overwhelming feeling that her life was going to change dramatically. And change it did; following her initial look of love (at a paranormal conference in Nevada, which also happened to be Braco's first U.S. appearance), Whitecliff was invited by Braco to Europe, where she spent three weeks touring with him in preparation for her own conference in Hawaii centered around Braco himself.

"In the time I spent with him, what I found was a man who lived so selflessly and so full of love for others," said Whitecliff. "A lot of people call him a healer. I would actually call him an 'awakener,' because he's a conduit that awakens a part of ourselves that allows healing and love and other transformations to take place. His gift is emphasizing what's already there."

Braco also inspired Whitecliff to turn her observations during this tour into a book, 21 Days With Braco. Which is to say, he asked her to do it.

According to Whitecliff, Braco turned to her one day while they were on tour and said, "Angelika, you are going to write a book. You are going to tell my story." She had it done in six weeks.

Since the publication of her book in 2009, Whitecliff has served as a liaison between Braco and the U.S. In addition to verbal support in the form of her book and articles in The Examiner, she produces his numerous gazing sessions. Before Braco's 3-day stint in Miami this weekend, he will have hit up Arizona, California, New York, and Washington D.C.

Braco has made several trips to Miami over the past few years, and already has his share of faithful believers in the 305.

"As soon as I saw him, I started to cry. I was overwhelmed with this feeling of happiness and energy," said Miami resident Alicia Rodriguez of her first Braco experience in 2011. She has been a regular attendee at his Miami gazing sessions, and supplements with a Braco DVD in times of need.

It's worth mentioning here that many, such as Rodriguez, assert that you don't need to interact with Braco in person to feel the effects of his gaze; if you can't have access to the real thing, it's possible that a video or photograph of him will suffice.

Rodriguez described a chain of transformative events, mostly health-related, that have occurred since she and family members began interacting with Braco, either face-to-face or face-to-DVD. She described an instance in which she attended a gazing session with excruciating dental pains, which disappeared after a few minutes with Braco. On another occasion, she awoke in the middle of the night, "coughing and choking and burning up." She watched her Braco DVD, after which she experienced what she described as a period of "shaking and trembling, followed by a complete release of pain." Her family members have since followed suit and experienced similar results.

"His gift has nothing to do with him as a human being. He is a conduit. He can channel this energy that already exists everywhere and use it to help people," Rodriguez said.

Braco also reportedly refuses to accept donations or charge for his services; a Braco representative explained that the $8 admission fee for the Miami gazing sessions covers transportation costs and venue rental only. In Europe, sessions with Braco are free.

A typical Braco gazing session. Stand, stare, love, repeat.

For now, Braco's gaze isn't targeted at anyone in particular. But Whitecliff said she has higher aspirations.

"I feel that Braco's work could go very far into the peace movement," she said. "You know, I'd like to get him into a room with government leaders, with politicians. We'd love to see him gaze at the United Nations. He can transmit such a frequency of love that brings out the best in people."

At least 2,000 attendees per day are expected to attend Braco's gazing sessions in Miami. And that's impressive, considering the challenge of promoting a guy who basically stands in a room and looks at you.

"We don't do a lot of PR. It's not exactly media ready," said Whitecliff. "It's really difficult to take out an ad and say 'Well, here's a man who simply gazes at a room full of people, and many people in the audience have a very powerful experience.' We know it's not the conventional norm."

We're with you on that one, sister. But our interest has been fully piqued, so we're going to go check it out for ourselves. Hey, we've got problems just like everyone else.

Braco will be at the Miami Beach Convention Center May 5-7 for nine sessions daily, beginning each hour (10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday). Tickets cost $8 per session and can be purchased online at braco.net or at the door (subject to availability). And don't forget to let your love light shine.